Interview: Hugh Hefner photo

Q: I never knew that... now, most readers would think I am insane for asking, but over the years, were you more proud of featuring women like Marilyn and Farah Fawcett, or was it artists like Andy Warhol and Woody Allen that gave you greater satisfaction? Actually, perhaps satisfaction isn't the right word (laughs)...

Well, what gives me the greatest satisfaction is that I managed to put together a lifestyle magazine that included fiction, pictorials, centerfolds, and that had such a dramatic effect. It became an entertainment company that would change the world. But it was all about the recognition — after half a century, after the wars and battles we have fought and won, we do, to some extent, live in a Play..boy world.

Q: Men respect you and would change places with you in a second, women respect and adore you. Does it bother you that people, myself included, focus on the glitz of it all, and not on what you have done for freedom of speech, restoring the arts and what have you?

I think it is part of the package, given the short attention span of young people. What amazes me is that there is such an awareness of Play..boy and my life, and what I have been able to accomplish. I remain very much connected to my childhood... what makes me most satisfied, is that I do stay connected to others. I have never been too jaded or too sophisticated — it keeps me alive every day.

Q: In 1985, you suffered a stroke, which you refer to as a stroke of luck. Do tell.

It came after the worst year of my life. We were being attacked by both the Right and the Left. Reagan was in the White House, sex was given a very bad name, and I was being attacked by a friend, I did not know how to deal with that. The stress led to a stroke, but it was a pat on the shoulder. I was partially paralyzed and lost the ability to read... I felt that I had missed an oncoming train and it opened my eyes, I stopped smoking the pipe and took better care of my life. And it did set the stage for me getting married a second time... I was tired.

Q: Any regrets on marriage #2?

I certainly am grateful for it, I have two boys and she lives next to me, in an adjacent estate... had I not been out of the scene for the better part of 10 years... my life and the brand are hotter now than they have ever been, and I do not know if this would be possible if I was in the public eye... so to some extent, I was born again, like an Elvis spotting...

Q: You are hotter now. In 1971, you went public and, on most accounts, you are larger, bigger and better now.

The American edition is at 3.5 million circulation, but the nature of the empire has changed; we now have Play..boy TV, a Play..boy website, Play..boy products. There are 300 stores in mainland China, one of the more popular brands in a country where the magazine is not allowed.

¿ Quick fact ?Hugh Hefner served in the army from 1944 to 1946.

Q: Wow! Mao Zedong would be turning in his grave! We talk business, but your daughter Christie handles the business now — what was it about her, apart from being your daughter, that made her the right person?

I always told my promotions department that if she did not exist, they would have to create her. It was a combination of factors; we were seen as the last bastion of male chauvinism, the fact that feminism would take over the reins of the company, was too sweet for words...

Q: Interesting you mention the feminists. Why is it that while feminists cry foul over Play..boy, women on the streets are dying to live the Play..boy life?

Well, women are fascinated too... the sexuality of it, the editorial as well has a wide appeal to both. I do think that the brand is more popular with young women because previous generations had been forbidden to see it.

Q: You mentioned TV... you have also reached out into the Web; how important is that to you?

I had more than a magazine, I had a lifestyle, the readers identified with it in a very unique way, so it became a projection of what men liked. The Internet fits very well. It gives us an even closer dialogue with readers... you can really communicate with your audience, and that is delicious.

Q: Delicious indeed... the magazine is synonymous with you, it has your DNA all over it — no pun intended — but take us through the pages. What do you oversee?

The editorial... Christie does the business, I am in charge of editorial and creative. We have great editors, photographers and artists who are mainly in New York and Chicago, and we have constant contact. The magazine is created in New York and Chicago but I still pick the covers, we have some cartoons, we have an ongoing communication for the layout, so we have an ongoing dialogue.

Q: You mentioned President Reagan... have you ever invited Presidents to the mansion, and have they ever shown up?

Well I had an exchange with Ronald Reagan before he was president, he was objecting to us running some stories in the 1960s. We ran a positive story on Charlie Chaplin, which was not accepted by the more conservative minds, and we ran the famous interview with [Jimmy] Carter that became the major source of controversy during his election... but no real stories to tell...